The Sex Lives Of College Girls on HBO Max from producer Mindy Kaling is thoroughly pleasant and enjoyable. The experience is very TV and isn't as fraught as a lot of Peak TV. It's not as grating as HBO'S previous show Girls. The characters are all likable and the narrative is very compelling. The first two episodes dropped together, and then three more. The next three drop on December 2nd, and then the final two of season 1 a week after that. #thesexlivesofcollegegirls #sexlivesofcollegegirls #hbomax #hbo #mindykaling #peaktv #hbogirls #girlshbo #PaulineChalamet #ReneéRapp #reneerapp #MidoriFrancis #AlyahChanelleScott #AmritKaur #GavinLeatherwood #LaurenSpencer #RenikaWilliams #ChristopherMeyer (at Portland, Oregon) https://www.instagram.com/p/CW1tlDXvWu2/?utm_medium=tumblr
Forgot to post my cameo from Ep. 3 of @shermansshowcase ‘Behind the Charade’ I played ‘Beat Blaster Kev’ and @calvinevanscomedy was MC ‘Craig Ski’! If you haven’t caught #shermansshowcase on @ifc then you must hate “FUNNY!” Shout out to my dudes @diallo + #Bashir for inviting me on the show! If you don’t have #IFC borrow your parents passcode or hire a Russian hacker because you’re truly missing out on some legendary peak black television! PLEASE Don’t show up to the barbershop/hair salon not knowing all the great skits in this show because you WILL GET COOKED! #bashirsalahuddin #DialloRiddle #JohnLegend #VicMensa #MorrisDay #CalvinEvans #SSIFC #PeakTV #SmartAndFunny #lol #BPH #BlackPeopleHomework (at Quixote Studios) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1fZgHsAznD/?igshid=6p08jjaoyqnu
Rob Lowe and son John Owen starred as Ellis and Jackson Dragon in this short lived Netflix series. I saw very little promotion for either season, so I am not surprised it was canceled. I enjoyed watching it. It felt related to network television in the best way. It kept things brisk, made sure every episode had a good three act structure, and seemed to understand that wanting to hang out with the show is more important than wanting to know what happens next. That said, I understand why some plot points annoyed viewers because they seemed to slip past plots that one wanted or disliked potential changes in direction from the finale.
While watching it I was reminded that on the “Erotic 80’s” episode of You Must Remember This that covered the Rob Lowe sex tape scandal, Karina Longworth suggests that Lowe’s career trajectory was as influence by the success of Wayne’s World as the scandal. As in Wayne’s World, Rob Lowe’s character here is best taken as comedic antagonist. The protagonists are actually his son and his company’s CFO, Anna. (The company is named Dragon, hinting at both the fantastical aspects of the science they work on and how central Ellis’s cult of personality is to everything.) They are also his enablers. The relationships are as unstable as the title. At the start of the series we learn Ellis’s wife has recently died in an accident, though no details are given about it. Ellis has always been eccentric and difficult but he’s become less functional. But as he’s been hailed as a genius, he has an ego, can’t see anything he does as wrong and insists that he is always best. The fact that Leslie (Fred Arminsen), the Board ordered psychiatrist, who at one point threatened to write a bad report about him, adores him despite the fact that Ellis kidnapped him in retaliation to the threat just adds to the way reality warps for Ellis. Everyone else has to clean up.
Anna is played by Sian Clifford, who I primarily think of as Fleabag’s sister Claire. She is funnier here, even if the joke is often that no one can tell when she’s joking. She feels under appreciated and writes fan fiction in which she is worshipped. Malcolm (Aaron Branch). Malcolm, a former classmate of Jackson’s who hero worships Ellis also works in the administrative side of the Dragon. His love of Ellis is so intense that at tone point he ghosts on a date with a crush when said crush mentions that Ellis often makes his job more difficult. Dragon also employs the young scientists Ruby (Emma Ferreira) and Luna (Ruby Marsh), who are picking up the work Ellis abandoned. Their friendship is tinged with romantic rivalry. Over the first season they are both interested in Jackson. Ruby dates him while Luna ends a different relationship that should have ended earlier. At the end of the season Luna and Jackson seem to be trying to get together as Ruby has moved on to someone who shares more of her interests.
The first season also ends with the Ellis setting fire to the car of a Board member who was making moves against him. Though there is talk about possible prison for this, Anna is able to pull some strings and get the charges dropped. A condition of her strings involves bringing her ex step daughter, Georgia (Iris Apatow), to Dragon as an intern. I mostly disliked Georgia, but I did so on behalf of Anna and Luna. Georgia interrupts Luna and Jackson getting together and otherwise stirs shit around the office. Dynamics shift for her and not necessarily for more of that fun hangout vibe. It’s hard to say if she’s an appropriate response Ellis’s arson, but he is the least affected by her.
The second season also brings in Lamorne Morris as Peter, a younger biotech star. Ellis buys up his company after Jackson tries to leave Dragon for it. Both Dragon men find themselves lacking in comparison to the charm of Peter. He’s also interesting in that his character seems to get disillusioned with Ellis as it goes on. It’s different than characters who are totally enthralled by him (Leslie and Malcom) or find him impossible but are in codependent relationships (Jackson and Anna).
After cancellation I was really surprised to see so many people say there was a huge drop off in quality between the seasons. I disagree, but the season did end with Ellis declaring his bid for the US Presidency. With the craziness of American Politics, and how our election was determined by wealth people in tech making massive donations, I can’t blame anyone who didn’t want to see that plot play out.
#Severance is mind-blowing on so many levels! Highly, highly, HIGHLY recommended viewing. #PeakTV #TwilightZone https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf4jkzEt2gJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
La exigencia de estrenar un volumen considerable de contenidos al año era y sigue siendo algo consustancial para el modelo de negocio de Netflix y otras plataformas.
La fatiga de decisión empieza a ser un síndrome frecuente entre los usuarios de Netflix: pasan más tiempo decidiendo qué película o serie ver que disfrutándola.
